AlterContacts

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Think Tank for Sustainable Development
In Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC)

Think Tank AlterContacts operates as a virtual laboratory of ideas, incubating initiatives that contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. We develop practices for sustainable actions, helping communities to become more resourceful, and shorten the path to a more prosperous world. Our methods to achieve maximum impact using minimum resources are recommended by the United Nations SDG Good Practices Network as "an example to follow and replicate across the globe". In December 2022, the United Nations Economic and Social Council granted Think Tank AlterContacts a Special Consultative Status.

18/09/2026

What if we stopped asking only “Is the economy growing?” and started asking “Is life actually getting better where we live?”

In a youth consultation held alongside the UN Commission for Social Development, nearly 300 participants from 60 countries reflected on what a “good life in a good place to live” means to them. Their answers began not with income or consumption, but with safety, mental and physical health, meaningful work, accessible education, green public spaces, and a genuine ability to influence decisions affecting their future.

These insights are now brought together in “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda,” a new report by Think Tank AlterContacts, released in the framework of the European Sustainable Development Week 2026.

The publication also captures a second conversation: the HLPF virtual side event, which brought together more than 700 participants from over 90 countries to explore how Erasmus+ partnerships can help close skills gaps for the green and digital transitions.

From AI-enabled vocational education to ocean literacy, circular aquaculture, sustainable tourism and environmental monitoring, the report shows that skills matter most when they help people translate concern into practical, local action.

If young people were invited to define progress in your community, what would they put first?

Read the full report here:
https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

If we already have the data to understand our planet's challenges, why are we still struggling to respond effectively?

The GreenScope project starts from a simple insight: data alone doesn't create impact—people do. One of the biggest barriers isn't the lack of environmental information, but the shortage of professionals who know how to transform that information into decisions and action.

GreenScope equips university students and educators with practical skills in Earth Observation and LiDAR technologies. Rather than learning these technologies only in theory, students work with real satellite and LiDAR datasets to solve authentic environmental challenges—from monitoring forests and water resources to assessing flood risks and supporting sustainable land management.

What makes the project different is that it combines education, industry and real environmental needs. Students collaborate with experts, educators receive training to modernize their teaching, and universities develop open educational resources and MOOCs that any institution can use long after the project ends.

As the project team puts it: "If we want to achieve the 2030 Agenda, investing in technology is only half of the solution. We must invest equally in the people who will use it."

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

What if the least sustainable part of aquaculture isn't the fish—but the feed bags, pallets and water we still treat as waste?

The CIRCU-TECH project starts from a practical observation: much of the waste generated in aquaculture—plastics from feed bags, wood from pallets, nutrient-rich production waters—can be reduced, reused or valorised, yet workers often lack the training and tools to do so.

Rather than focusing only on end-of-pipe solutions, the project develops a vocational training programme that combines circular economy and ecodesign principles with immersive virtual and augmented reality tools. Learners can practise waste-management actions in realistic VR scenarios—what to do with plastics, leftover feed, by-products—before applying them on real farms.

This approach addresses both the green and digital transitions: it strengthens skills for more circular and sustainable waste management while using innovative learning methods that make training accessible, engaging and replicable across different types of aquaculture facilities.

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

Sustainable travel is growing—but how do tourism businesses actually put it into practice?

The SEA Sustainable Ecotourism Awareness project addresses a gap many small and medium-sized tourism enterprises face: they want to operate more sustainably, but lack the specialised knowledge, time or resources to navigate green certification schemes such as EU Ecolabel, Green Key, ISO 14001 or GSTC standards.

Rather than promoting sustainability as a concept, SEA provides concrete tools and guidance to integrate sustainable practices into everyday business operations. Trained VET trainers and tourism consultants mentor SMEs on practical measures—reducing energy and water consumption, improving waste management, purchasing more sustainable products, protecting local heritage and involving staff and visitors in environmentally responsible behaviour.

A dedicated AI-powered e-learning platform tailors the training to each operator's language, sector and prior knowledge, making green skills development more accessible and scalable. Through study visits and exchange activities, participants also share good practices across Italy, Turkey and Malta.

By making sustainability part of everyday business operations, SEA contributes directly to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)—while strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the tourism sector.

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

We live by the sea—but do our everyday decisions reflect that?

The BlueGOV project starts from a simple observation: coastal municipalities, tourism boards, local administrations and businesses make decisions every day that affect the ocean—often without calling these decisions “ocean-related”. Waste management, beach infrastructure, tourism offers, food procurement, mobility, harbour management, events… all of these can influence the sea.

Yet many stakeholders feel emotionally connected to the sea without translating that connection into ocean-conscious action. As one interviewee put it: “We live by the Baltic Sea, and we know it is endangered, but much of this awareness stays subconscious.”

BlueGOV is working to close that gap—not by producing more marine experts, but by enabling non-experts with decision-making responsibility to ask better questions, communicate across sectors and make the ocean visible in everyday governance.

Through training modules, an e-learning platform and a practical governance toolbox, the project helps coastal actors move from “I know the sea matters” to “I know what this means for my decisions next Monday morning”.

Because ocean literacy is not only an educational slogan—it is a practical governance capacity.

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

What if the most important AI skill is not learning to use another tool—but learning how to use it well?

The AI4VET4AI project starts from a challenge many teachers, trainers and workers already recognise: technology is changing faster than education and training systems can adapt. When curricula fall behind, learners may be left out of the digital transition—and educators are placed under constant pressure to catch up.

One insight from the discussion stood out: AI should strengthen human capacity, not replace it. Its value in education lies not in making people unnecessary, but in helping learners follow more personalised pathways, supporting educators with practical tools and preparing workers to use AI responsibly in their own professions.

That also means keeping people—not technology—at the centre. Teachers need the time, confidence and support to adapt. Learners need opportunities to practise, question and apply AI in meaningful contexts. And education systems need partnerships that can respond as quickly as the world of work changes.

Ai4vet4ai is helping vocational education and training move from being a late adopter to an active partner in the digital transition—so that learners and workers are equipped not only to use AI, but to shape its responsible use.

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

18/09/2026

What does progress look like when young people define it?

In February 2026, 298 participants from 60 countries joined a virtual conversation on Beyond GDP—asking what truly matters for a good life in a good place to live. Instead of focusing on economic metrics, they gave priority to human development, care for the environment and community well-being.

Their answers were practical and local:

A 24-year-old in Ghana wants to form a non-profit organization to help children from financially challenged backgrounds get access to education.

A 21-year-old in Zimbabwe will advocate for mental health to be taken just as seriously as physical health.

A 20-year-old in Malaysia plans to organize simple clean-up activities to make the town nicer and happier.

Together, these aspirations tell a single story: progress is human-centered. Young people do not want to repeat survival-focused lives—they want lives with balance, meaning and the freedom to contribute.

As the report puts it: "When individuals can wake up with a sense of belonging and purpose—doing work they love, in safe, green, connected places—quality of life improves for everyone."

The Beyond GDP youth consultation shows that local acts—cleaning a street, drilling a borehole, offering free legal aid, building walking paths, creating safe public spaces—are not isolated. They are the everyday infrastructure of development: practical, community-led steps that make the SDGs real.

Read more in the new report by Think Tank AlterContacts “Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda”

https://zenodo.org/records/22745044

10/09/2026

What does a good life actually look like — to a 22-year-old in Benin, a hotel manager on the Baltic coast, or a VET teacher in Croatia?

Next week, Think Tank AlterContacts is launching a new report: "Beyond GDP: Youth Vision of Progress and Building Skills for the 2030 Agenda."

It brings together two linked Virtual Side Events we facilitated in 2026 — one to the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD64), one to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) — where over 1,000 people from 90+ countries discussed what progress beyond GDP really means, and which skills partnerships are already delivering it on the ground.

The report launches on 18 September, as part of European Sustainable Development Week 2026.

Follow our page on Sep 18 as we share a preview of what's inside: youth voices, five Erasmus+ projects, and policy contributions on Beyond GDP process.

15/06/2026

How can education and skills partnerships turn ambition into action for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? Join us for “Closing the Skills Gap for the 2030 Agenda: Lessons from EU Transnational Partnerships, a Virtual Side Event to the High-Level Political Forum 2026, hosted by Think Tank AlterContacts, NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC.

🗓 Date: Friday, July 10, 2026
💻 Where: Online | Zoom
🔗 Register now: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/hpGeowWTRUadosjXeCyECg #/registration

This interactive event will showcase five EU-funded Erasmus+ projects as concrete, replicable models of how education, skills, and multi-stakeholder partnerships can accelerate SDG implementation.

🌍 What to Expect:

+ A fully interactive roundtable (no slides, no speeches — your voice matters).
+ Direct exchange with practitioners, researchers, and project leaders working on the green and digital transitions.
+ Live polls, audience comments, and breakout discussions to spark new ideas.
+ Cross-sector perspectives from higher education, vocational education and training, adult learning, and local/regional governance.

🎙 Featuring:

Julia K. Skupchenko, Co-founder of Think Tank AlterContacts and an award-winning social entrepreneur, who will facilitate the discussion.

Maja Brkljacic, Head of Algebra LAB at Algebra University and the coordinator of AI4VET4AI project.

Susanne KLEEMANN, Chair and Professor of Sustainability Science and Applied Geography at the University of Greifswald, the coordinator of BlueGOV project.

Mariana Sá, Sustainability Specialist in marine and environmental sciences at Associação Portuguesa de Aquacultores, representing Circutech | EU Project.

Elena Pavić Project Manager at Algebra University, representing GreenScope | EU-cofunded project.

Daniela de Gregorio, Head of the EU Grant Office at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies and the coordinator of Sustainable Ecotourism Awareness.

15/06/2026

We invite you to join the team of Think Tank AlterContacts as an online volunteer for our Virtual Side Event to the UN High-Level Political Forum 2026.

The event — "Closing the Skills Gap for the 2030 Agenda: Lessons from EU Transnational Partnerships" — will take place on 10 July 2026 and bring together civil society, academia, youth, and policymakers to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Choose the role that best matches your skills:

📋 Rapporteur — Capture and document key discussions and outcomes of the event
📣 Social Media Promoter — Amplify the event's reach on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram

Both assignments are fully online, open to applicants worldwide, and come with an official UN certificate of appreciation upon successful completion.

📅 Application deadline: 20 June 2026

👉 Apply now via the UNV Online Volunteering platform:

🔗 Rapporteur: https://app.unv.org/opportunities/1784888021269905/
🔗 Social Media Promoter: https://app.unv.org/opportunities/1784888021269903/

Your skills can make a difference. Join us in shaping a more equitable and sustainable world. 💚

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Website

http://www.altercontacts.org/

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